2022: The year of GenZ creators

• GenZ content creators have taken the internet by storm and their influence is only going to grow.
• Viraj Sheth, Co-Founder and CEO, Monk Entertainment writes what makes this passionate generation special different from the other generations and why 2022 will only make GenZ creators shine brighter.

Have you heard? There's a new word in town buzzing around, and no, we're done with 'millennial'. It's the Generation Z, and they're the new wave of influencers, ready to take the year by storm.

Traditionally defined as the group of people born between 1997-2012, this generation is also dubbed as 'digital natives' because they quite literally grew up watching their cartoons on YouTube instead of Television sets.

The GenZ skipped the Facebook phase entirely and jumped straight to posting pictures (and now reels) on Instagram.

With higher empathy and self-awareness than the previous generations, they are not shy to lay their life bare for their followers and talk about their feelings with a refreshing, complete transparency. They may have a lower attention span than most other generations and think they know better than their professors, but haven't we all?

Arguably the biggest advantage, and yet at the same time, the biggest disadvantage that the Gen Z have over the other generations is the omnipresence of smartphones and access to high-speed internet. While as per parents, this has led to terrible repercussions, I believe this has its fair share of pros attached to it. The Gen Z is the generation that is truly, unabashedly expressing themselves on social media and rightfully so, making money on the internet.

When the lockdown hit and a lot of these folks had the option to attend schools and colleges virtually, they resorted to spending all this added time in pouring out their creativity on social media platforms. 2020-2021 saw the rise of the Gen Z creators, 2022 will see the power of the Gen Z creators.

The lockdown saw the rise of a massive set of Gen Z social media creators across every possible category. While the common notion seems to be that the Gen Z are only equipped with making quick, thoughtless dance and slow-motion content, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

This new wave of influencers has seen someone like Aastha Shah who has bravely battled vitiligo and is not afraid to speak about it on her profile.

It has seen some fantastic comedy creators like Bihari Ladka who along with his grandmother makes content that entertains millions, there's even cooking creators like Aditya Hirlekar (aka Nom Nom) who have found creative ways to film recipes.

Did you think that was it? More to the list of Gen Z influencers is Aryaki Joon who has brought her sense of fashion to the fore and inspired her audience to support small and local fashion brands and also Dev Raiyani who has given the younger generation some beautiful music to tune in to.

Aside from their fantastic content, another major reason for the rise of these GenZ stars is due to the increase in the GenZ consumer. Around 60-70% of the audience demographic of these creators ranges from the ages of 18-24.

The Indian internet is getting younger on an average, every passing day, and GenZ creators speak their language and ride that wave. The average Gen Z creator is more likely to speak up about social causes, actively support small businesses, and be mindful and empathetic towards people’s feelings while making content. They love Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter because of the snackable nature of short-format content making them quick, snappy, and impactful with ease. With their innovative ways of narrating stories, they’ve been able to build an engaged community that far surpasses the numbers of their millennial peers in the same number bracket. Due to these numbers, they’re also increasingly attracting more attention from global brands like Netflix, Tinder, L’Oreal, Unilever, Zomato, OnePlus, and more titan brands.

2022 should see a drastic surge in their popularity with their ever growing audience. On that note, 2022 is not the Year of the Tiger, it's the Year of the Gen Z Creator.

Now you've caught onto the wave.